The present invention relates to an improved clip device for testing electrical equipment. More particularly, the invention relates to a mechanically-assisted test clip to facilitate connection of lead wires to electrical testing devices.
Electrical test clips are frequently utilized in manufacturing plants to connect electrical leads of the manufactured products to various testing devices. In particular, products such as electromechanical machines must be tested to verify the internal workings of the product. Toward this end, the leads are typically connected to testing devices that measure electrical continuity and the like while at the same time supplying power to the equipment to be tested. Test clips allow this connection to be rapidly made by the plant worker.
Conventional test clips clamp the electrical leads utilizing spring-biased clamping jaws made from an electrically conductive metal. The jaws must be opened by hand in order to effect connection or disconnection of the test clip to the electrical lead. In one common clip, an average force of about forty-eight pounds must be manually applied to the clip to open the clamping jaws.
A test clip which relies on manual force for its operation may cause significant hand strain for a manufacturing worker operating the device repeatedly throughout the workday. In addition, many manufactured products have multiple leads that must be connected to the testing device at one time. Thus, a worker may be required to connect a number of test clips for each unit to be tested. Thus, the use of manually operated clips can significantly slow the progress of product testing. It will be appreciated that a reduction in the manual force requirement would be considered advantageous.